However, seeking to convert prospects puts salespeople in an effort zone, a less comfortable space than managing existing clients.
This is where a salesperson's competitive spirit becomes essential to fuel the determination to initiate new relationships with prospects and guide them to a final positive decision. Some approach sales like an amateur on a Sunday, while others operate at a high level with significant ambition.
The spirit of competition, a state of mind
The first point to have the right attitude is to be proud of the product or service you have to offer. The effective hunter will do this all the more easily if they are convinced of the value of their approach! It's about managing to overcome your natural inhibitions to build relationships with strangers who haven't asked for anything and don't need anything in principle!
If a salesperson isn't firmly convinced of their product's value, they'll eventually burn out from the inevitable setbacks they'll face before successfully acquiring additional clients. Mentally, a top-performing salesperson prepares themselves by focusing on all the satisfied customers who are happy to purchase their product or service. In other words, they need to motivate themselves by shifting from a « I'm going to be a bother » attitude to a deep conviction: « I'm going to provide my prospect with a benefit, a service ». This positive mental routine is a key to success, simple and incredibly effective!
It's actually about changing one's mindset, a mental shift, in order to transform an unrewarding and difficult activity into a positive attitude capable of making one's company shine. The hunter salesperson keeps in mind that selling is a joyful game where you always win in the end.
The goal of prospecting is to get an appointment (Discover or rediscover our infographic on the sales appointment here), an exchange, a first meeting. If the salesperson maintains a positive attitude and a competitive spirit, they will be able to prepare to bypass or overcome defense systems, especially the reception desk or switchboard. They will not lose sight of their goal: to sell only the appointment, and will bounce back from refusal to refusal until they succeed!
Every competitor relies on a strategy.
Next, an effective salesperson adopts a strategic, thoughtful approach to increase efficiency. They start by defining the profile of their ideal client. From this, they deduce the relevant criteria to segment their target market and extract from their database the addresses of prospects potentially interested in their product.
From there, much like a top athlete who has spent hours watching their opponents, they identify as many options as possible to reach the determined target within the market in order to maximize their chances of initiating sales conversations and signing a client. Attentive to their market, the sales representative with a conquering spirit remains alert, vigilant, and seeks to identify weak signals likely to lead to receptive prospects.
Strategy also involves organization. Maintaining control over your activities and optimizing your effort and output is key to long-term success. It starts by blocking out prospecting slots in your calendar, time slots during which you do not check emails or answer incoming calls. Eliminate any external distractions that allow you to escape! With this approach, you maintain control and act according to your own objectives. If you leave your phone available, you give others the opportunity to use your time to satisfy their own objectives.
It is recommended to organize around 3-hour blocks to guarantee impact and progress without fearing wear and tear. Prospecting for half an hour here and there does not allow you to get into a good dynamic. By organizing in this way, the salesperson will also integrate the idea that commercial prospecting towards new clients is not the adjustment variable for the rest of the activity but an essential!
Developing the spirit of a high-level competitor actually consists, beyond the technical aspects and the right posture to adopt, of developing the playful aspect. It's a bit like a skier above a mogul field. For most people, moguls are obstacles, preventing them from skiing in circles. For a specialist, they become landmarks around which to turn!
Finally, having the spirit of a competitor means having fun and loving the game! Loving the techniques to get around obstacles! This change of posture requires training, regular coaching, like any top athlete.
To impart the skills of good coaches to managers, or to restore the taste and spirit of high-level competition to sales representatives, we invite you to discover KESTIO coaching, dedicated to entrepreneurs and SMEs.
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